The Catacombs of Paris
by Redpanda14
Summary: Post JE** A fun trip to Paris turns into something more deadly as the Doctor encounters creatures born of rage and violence, and a young lady who may be more than she appears....
1. City of Night

**A/N: Beta'd by blucougar57.**

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**City of Night**

Silence encompassed the city of Paris, the pigeons overlooking the city from above. Perching from the buildings, their eyes scouting the streets. Heavy footsteps echoed from down the alleyway as small eyes located the source of the noise.

Estée could feel that she was being watched. Eyes glistened high above, looking down at her, watching her every move. Her blue dress swaying in the midnight's breeze as the moonlight shone upon it. The city was dangerous at night, especially for women. All over the city there were reports of Women disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace. The police sent out letters insisting that all Women stay inside after dark, but still they went missing.

Estée picked up her pace; she should have been home hours ago. But she had gotten caught up with her painting at the College. After hours of trying to decipher the feel of the painting, she finally thought of the perfect name, _Rose Red._ It pictured a woman holding her child in a garden completely surrounded by roses. As an artist you learn to bring your pictures to life. You can make a person cry, laugh even angry. It's about how you express yourself inside the painting, behind the painting; the truth is in the detail.

Terrifying screeches filled the night air as if from a monster. Estée turned the corner heading down another alleyway. The noises grew closer, something was prowling the sky. A sudden loud crash caused Estée to jump; a couple of bricks had smashed onto the ground from the rooftops above. Pigeons scattered in all directions as a large figure swooped down from the sky heading straight towards Estée.

She ran faster down the alley as the figure drew closer towards her, its yellow eyes shining like beacons calling to her. Her house has just around the next corner; she could see the yellow mosaic roof. The creature was riding on the wind, its left wing colliding into a chimney causing dust and bits of stone to fall all over Estée. She reached her house, searching in her pockets frantically for the key but only had enough time to touch the silver piece of metal. A stone hand slashed at the door leaving a claw mark imprinted on the wooden door.

Estée screamed at the top of her lungs as the monster picked her up in its hands and flew into the night.

* * *

The next day, on the other side of the city, scrubby weeds struggling through the cracks in the paving stones began to stir as a sudden breeze appeared out of nowhere. A wild noise reverberated from the stone walls of the alleyway and the buildings around it. The noise became a wheezing and groaning sound building to a crescendo as a blue light flashed about two meters off the ground, under it surged a blue box out of existence from nowhere.

No one saw the TARDIS arrive in the narrow alley except for a few pigeons overhead which flew for their life's when the doors of the strange blue box sprang open.

"Paris, I've always wanted to go to Paris," the Doctor said as he became aware of his surroundings.

Putting his hands in his pockets the Doctor strode down the alleyway into the main street. He determined it was approximately 11:38am, taking into account the positioning of the sun and the latitude and longitude. The bells of Notre Dame chimed in the distance, the beautiful melody of the towers as if they were singing.

"Okay, maybe a little later than I thought. God, I'm getting old, and that's saying something," he said to himself as a horse and carriage went past. Across the street was the _Collège de Sorbonne, _one of the very first Colleges in Paris.

"Aww, you are beautiful!" the Doctor remarked, gob-smacked at the building. "No, really, you are beautiful. And when I say beautiful, I really mean you are really beautiful."

People were staring at the Doctor now as they walked past, but he was oblivious to the attention, so enthralled was he with the structure before him. The Doctor walked across the street, which was extremely empty for Paris, especially for this millennium. It should have been thriving by now; it was about 1827 according to the TARDIS when he landed.

The entrance to the College was like a giant arc of marble. After all his years of travelling, the human race never ceased to amaze the Doctor. As he entered the College the first thing to catch his eye was a painting on a wall. Obviously it had just been completed. He could smell the varnish, along with the petroleum, isopropyl and methylene chloride with a hint of olive. Underneath the painting was a brass plaque. '_Rose Red' by Estée Basset. _

"Amazing..."

The Doctor gawped at the painting. It detailed a woman with her child, though there was something in the painting he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"It really is amazing isn't it," said a young woman from behind the Doctor. Her hair was as black as the night sky, her eyes stood out more than the rest of her body. One was green, while the other was blue. "I'm so sorry, I've forgotten my manners. My name is Ariane. Ariane Sommer."

She stretched out her hand to shake his.

"Hello Ariane, I'm the Doctor."

He grasped her hand and shook it.

She stared at him for a second.

"The Doctor? You're called the Doctor?"

"Yes, the Doctor," he said cheerfully.

"Don't you have a name?" Ariane asked again, still confused.

"No. Just the Doctor," he announced with a finality that stopped her from pushing the subject any further.

Ariane couldn't help but notice that the man was remarkably tall and thin, with dark, spiky hair with darting eyes. His clothes were very strange and unusual, nothing from what she had seen before. He wore a dark brown suit with blue stripes with a black cloth underneath in a style that she had never seen before. His shoes were very strange; they were not the typical shoes she had seen men wear around Paris. Obviously he was a long way from home.

The Doctor turned back to the painting and examined it more closely, his enthusiasm giving Ariane the impression of a child with a new toy.

"It really is remarkable; do you know who painted it? I'd really like to meet them."

"As a matter of fact, I do, but she hasn't turned up today at the College. She was supposed to meet me this morning but she never turned up. I sincerely hope she's all right..."

Ariane gazed at the painting also, her worry reflecting on her face.

"What do you mean 'hope'? I'm sure she's fine, just late. After all this is Paris, the city of love. Who wouldn't want to live here? I mean, the music, the art, the drama, the architecture... All of it's enough to keep you distracted for a lifetime. Everything happens in Paris."

Ariane just stared at the Doctor; he was certainly the strangest man she had ever met. He answered her baffled look with a bright grin.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, brushing his hand through his hair. "Am I being rude? I seem to have this problem with not knowing when to stop talking."

"Yes, I have noticed."

She giggled but her face turned more serious after a few seconds.

"The truth is, Doctor, there have been a few disappearances the last few months. Women just disappear in the night, not to be seen or heard of again. The police are saying it's a serial killer stalking women, but I don't believe it is. If it is a serial killer, as they say, then where are the bodies?"

"You're right, that is strange. You know, that's the first intelligent question I've heard for a while," said the Doctor with a wide grin. "You know what, if you'd like, I'll gladly help you find Estée, and the perfect place to start looking for someone is to find where she last was. We should try her house first. Care to join me?"

Should she trust this stranger? After all, she had only just met him, but something in his eyes said that she could trust him. Her entire life she had wanted to join the gendarme, but only men could work. Women were expected to stay home and cook for their husbands and clean. That wasn't the life for her, it never would be.

"Yes, Doctor. I'd love to come," she answered finally, with an eagerness that she couldn't hope to conceal, and nor did she care to try. Then, in a more serious tone, "I have one question for you, though, sir. Do you believe in monsters?"

"Do I believe in monsters?" the Doctor laughed. "Do _I_ believe in monsters?" he grinned. "Oh, you have _no_ idea."

* * *

"So what do you think of Paris, Doctor?" Ariane questioned the Doctor as they walked down the street, heading towards Estée's house.

"How do you know I'm not from around here? I thought I fit very well with the current status quo. Though then again, that's what I thought a couple of weeks ago in Greece. Nearly ended up getting hunted down by a Slitheen."

"If you'll forgive my impudence, you don't sound like anyone from Paris. You talk as if you're from another world..."

"Well, now that you mention it..." he tried to interrupt, but she didn't hear him.

"And your clothes are like nothing I've ever seen. So who are you, Doctor?"

She paused to allow him to talk. He stared at her intently, one eyebrow raised, while he decided whether or not to tell her the truth. Finally, he decided to take a chance.

"I'm an alien," he said, on the one hand hoping that she wouldn't panic, and on the other hoping furiously that she wouldn't just laugh at him. He was relieved when she did neither.

"I did rather work that out on my own," she said, surprising him with her calm reaction. "Let's get going, then. We have to find Estée."

She turned away and continued walking down the street turning down an alleyway.

The Doctor studied Ariane curiously as they walked. She was a very complex person. He could tell something was troubling her, and yet she appeared calm about everything. Even the revelation of his not being from Earth had failed to ruffle her. Now, if it were maybe two hundred years later, he would have expected such a calm reaction. But in the 1800's, people tended to believe in witches and black magic. Anything even remotely supernatural more often than not tended to generate panic and hysteria.

There was something different about Ariane, though, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Just like he couldn't put his finger on that painting. Weird things were going on in Paris and, just like always, the Doctor had found his way slap-bang into the middle of it.

* * *

**_This is my first and foremost story based on Doctor Who. I am intending to try and complete this story, as I have a tendency to quit writing as no one seems to read my storys. If you could, would you please take a few seconds of your time to review this as reviews give me the energy to write. The charcter Ariane is my creation. I have not stolen it so please do not use it. I am hoping that this story will reach a minimum of 50,000 words. I do not own Doctor Who or any of it's creations much to my dismay._**


	2. Stone Statues

**A/N: Beta'd by blucougar57.**

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**Stone Statues**

Following the stone paving, the Doctor and Ariane made their way through the almost deserted alleyways of Paris. A cat jumped off a dustbin, causing Ariane to jump slightly. Slowly making their way through the twists and turns of the city, the Doctor and Ariane came across a street market. The smell of fresh grown produce and fish drifted in the air. About seventy people crowded the small street, as far as the eye could see.

"I wonder if they have any bananas. Bananas are good. Plenty of Protein, carbohydrates and vitamin B6 plus great for a party. Can you believe the last time I was in Paris, they'd never seen a banana before? Can you believe that? Did I mention bananas are good?"

A grin broadened on the Doctor's face as he buried his hands deep into his pockets.

"Yes, you did indeed, Doctor. But first we need to get through there."

She pointed her finger in the direction of the crowed. The pair of them slowly fought their way through the battlefield. Ariane had managed to be hit by a woman's basket filled with salmon. The Doctor had been able to dodge the apples that had been thrown by small boy, but wasn't quick enough to avoid the rogue pear that had come hurtling out of a small girls hand from behind him, as it hit him square in the arm.

After a few minutes of avoiding savage fruit and fish, the Doctor and Ariane made it to the other side of the market. Ariane brushed off the fish scales off her new brown dress, while the Doctor rubbed his arm where the pear had hit him.

"Rule one; in case of an emergency, _run_. Rule two, stay away from pears, they really hurt," the Doctor whined, all the while hoping that he wouldn't bruise. Ariane ignored him, though she couldn't hide the smile on her face at his antics.

"Estée's house should be just around the next corner."

She led the Doctor around the next corner to a beautifully crafted house.

"Here we are. Number eighteen, Rue Serpente Road. This is where she lives, she even designed it herself, you know, right down to every tiny detail."

The house was positioned behind a stone mossy fence no higher than the Doctor's waist. The front garden was saturated with yellow and white roses, the scent of lemons lingered in the air. On the very top of the house stood a beautiful yellow mosaic roof, the sun's rays reflected off it and onto the garden bring it to life. The windows were circular with brown oak frames filled with clear plain glass. The walls were painted a sea green colour; you could almost see the waves breaking against the bank before crashing back into the sea even though nothing was moving. But the Doctors eyes diverted to the door. Four long, deep claw marks scratched all the way through the door, splinters sticking out at awkward and jagged angles.

"I think we might have a problem," the Doctor said, pulling his sonic screwdriver from out of his suit pocket.

Ariane studied the door, but a shiny silver object caught the corner of her eye. She picked up a small silver key from off the balcony and quickly slipped it into her dress pocket while the Doctor was using a strange glowing device on the door.

Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor waved it around to see if he could detect anything. As marvellous as it was, though, the Sonic Screwdriver did have its limits. Not many, but it wasn't a magic wand that could solve anything. Using it he could make a piece of equipment run a little faster or slow it down. It could even turn a television into a microwave, even enhance phones or track a signal, but it couldn't tell him what had happened a previous night. What it could do though, was give him a good idea at what had created the claw mark in the door. As he pressed a button, and fiddled with the settings, a blue light shone on the door. The sound of a thousand mosquitoes buzzed through the air. The sound pulsed on and off like Morse code.

"43-62-12-9, 43-62-12-9," the Doctor repeated over and over again. "43-62-12-9."

"What is it, Doctor?" Ariane asked.

The Doctor turned off the small device and placed it back into his top pocket of his suit.

"Well, it could be galactic co-ordinates. If I'm right, we're looking at something from the Terragorsal system in the Nostianic galaxy."

The Doctor scratched his head trying to figure out the last numbers. _12-9, _it was familiar, too familiar. He had only travelled to the Nostianic galaxy once, but that was years ago when Rose travelled with him. The Doctor had showed her the Hawplats of Silos. The lights had shone through the stone towers as the sunset, the desert vista could be seen in the distance as the Hawplats glided through the air as if they were with one with the wind. The day Rose said she'd stay with him forever....he shook his head back to reality.

"Pandora!" he shouted in Ariane's face.

"Excuse me?" Ariane asked, staring at the Doctor and trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"It's a planet, home to the Crypt. Amazing creatures, they're very well known for their love of puzzles and illusions. I got one of their quantum dimension language cipher puzzles on a holiday in Jawlesty about ten years ago. It took me ages to complete. You have fifteen pieces; each piece has nine sides with different alien languages on it and you have to connect to pieces with different languages to form a new language. And you have to connect all pieces to form a triangle, but it changes every five minutes. So after five minutes you get new languages and you have to start over. Thing is, the pieces are in three different dimensions. It's really complicated. I'll have to get it out later."

"These Crypt, what are they doing here? And if their planet is in another galaxy, how did they get here?"

Ariane stared at the Doctor, and he stared back into her wide, green eyes.

"Good question. I have no idea, though it can't be good. As much as the Crypt are smart, they are very tricky and deceptive. You can never trust one. They have no physical body, so they create their own. They can be a chair, a person, even an electric toothbrush, but they're really only foot soldiers. Whatever they're here for, whoever is giving orders to them isn't good." The Doctor noticed a tiny piece of rock caught in the door, carefully grabbing a pair of tweezers from his pockets, he pulled it out of the wooden door. "Hello, what do we have here? A stone? Now, I'm no Poirot, but I don't believe this should be here." A large grin forming on his face.

"Poirot?" Ariane look confused.

"Oops, wrong century. Never mind."

The Doctor turned back to the small grey stone; the texture was rough, like sandpaper. Obviously the Crypt was concealing itself as some sort of rock. The Doctor took the piece of stone and put it close to his mouth.

"You're not going to put that rock in your mouth, are you?" Ariane's face crumpled in disgust as the Doctor put the small piece of stone into his mouth and tasted it with his tongue. "That is truly disgusting."

The Doctor ignored her comment, and looked around thoughtfully.

"Are there any high buildings around here? Maybe somewhere about seventy meters high?"

The Doctor searched the area. A few pigeons had perched themselves on the lamppost in the street and appeared to be staring at the two of them with their small dark eyes.

"Those birds disturb me," Ariane said with a shudder. "They've been following me everywhere lately and they just sit and stare."

A sudden gust of wind caused the birds to unbalance and fly away. The Doctor stared at her, still waiting for an answer. Ariane finally picked up on it after a few minutes.

"The only place I can think of is Notre Dame. That's certainly one of the tallest buildings in Paris. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to reach it from here," Ariane admitted. One failing she had was that she didn't really have a good sense of direction.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that?"

The Doctor slapped himself on the back of the head, making Ariane stare again in amazement. He grinned again, and motioned wildly.

"Well, come on. No use just lounging around here. We're off to Notre Dame. Though, I think we can detour around the market this time."

Ariane nodded in agreement and relief. Walking out of the rose garden, they left the yellow mosaic house in the back of their minds as they headed down an alley.

The bells of Notre Dame rung in the distance. A large flock of pigeons gathered on the towers. It was one of the highest points of the city. One could see everything for miles as the sun set in Paris. There was nowhere to hide.

Gargoyles looked out into the distance. Their stone eyes bruised the surface of the earth wherever they looked. A pigeon laid itself onto one of the Gargoyle. The figure began to shake and stiffen as it rose up from the unstable perch. The sound of grating rock as the joints of the Crypt loosened. Its wings spreading two meters wide casting a faint shadow onto the streets below. The sun was setting behind Notre Dame, the yellow eyes of the Crypt shone into the dusk. The Universe looked down on Paris that evening. All the stars in the heavens glistened into existence as one by one each of the Gargoyle statues rose up from the perches and flew off into the distance keeping to the shadows.

_to be continued..._


	3. Détour à Paris

**_A/N: Just a note, If anyone is enjoying this could you please let me know. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I wasn't planning on putting this up today, as I've only just finished it. But I'm going back to school tomorrow so I may not update for a week, but I'll try my best. Enjoy the next chapter._**

**_Beta'd by blucougar57._**

**Détour à Paris**

Ariane Sommer looked up into the sky as a flock of pigeons circled them from above. Their distinguished beaks opening and closing as they squawked into the night air. The last of the sun disappearing below the horizon, as the last of the sun vanished; Ariane noticed a green flash enclose Paris from behind Notre Dame. But was quickly replaced by the night sky.

It had taken a few hours to reach Notre Dame, as Ariane had gotten them lost. A sense of direction was definitely what she didn't have. People where rushing to their houses, locking the doors behind them making sure that nothing could get inside. Paris was on edge, there had been twenty six disappearances, including Estée. The Doctor smiled at Ariane as he walked beside her, she replied with a forced smile. Her black hair blowing into her face as the wind suddenly picked up. Bits of dirt and rubbish that was littered along the gutter of the street were blown away into the distance. The pigeons continued to circle them overhead as they strode down the street.

The Doctor's eyes flickered as he noticed the birds had been following them from above, circling them like a vulture does to its prey.

"They won't hurt you," he said, trying to calm her. Her anxiety was clearly showing.

"Maybe not, Doctor. But I don't like birds. Never have. Not since when I was a child."

She rubbed her green eyes, removing some grit that had collected in the corner of her eye.

"May I ask what happened?" the Doctor asked, his curiosity winning over his sense of propriety.

Ariane looked deep into the back of her mind, searching for the memories she had long since buried away.

"I was five or six. My mother had taken me to the _Jardin des Plantes _for a picnic. I was feeding the pigeons there with breadcrumbs my mother had given me. When I'd finished feeding them, they kept coming back expecting more, but there was nothing left. Before I knew it they were swarming all over me, trying to suffocate me. Since then I try and stay well clear of birds. "

Ariane shivered, and tried once more to push the memories back into the farthest corner of her mind.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized, musing that an experience like that would really traumatise a child. Turning down one more alleyway, the two of them finally reached Notre Dame. The area was silent; no sounds were made except for the pigeons who were still in formation above. The only light was a small lamp hanging from the entrance of the Cathedral. They could see the embers dance around under the glass shell.

A terrifying screech filled the air, breaking the silence as a large figure shot down from the top of Notre Dame down towards the Doctor and Ariane.

"Doctor!" Ariane screamed in fear.

"Ariane, you do remember rule number one, don't you?"

"Yes," she replied breathlessly. The Crypt was only meters away.

"Good. Run!" he shouted, turning around and running in the direction they had come.

The Doctor turned his head making sure Ariane was right behind him. For a woman in a dress, she sure could run. Another screech erupted from the Crypt's mouth. There was nowhere to go. There wasn't enough time to stop and use the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor turned his head, looking back. The Crypt was only a few steps behind them. Its stone hands reaching out to grasp Ariane.

In the distance the Doctor saw a open doorway that had been boarded up with light planks of wood. That was it!

"Ariane, this way!" he called back.

The creature swung for Ariane's dress only narrowly missing it. The Doctor swiftly scooped up a brick on the ground and threw it at the boarded up door. A large hole now lay where wood had previously been. The Doctor slammed his body into the remaining wood with all his strength. The wood was only paper thin, causing the Doctor to go straight through, tumbling down and down into the darkness. Ariane followed, getting in just in time for the creature to smash into the entrance, and causing the entire opening to collapse, dust and rocks filling the darkness. Dust embedded itself in Ariane's lungs, causing her to cough violently. No light filled the tunnel as she felt around for the wall.

"Doctor!" she called out, only to be replied by her own echo. Her foot hit something lying in front of her, it was the Doctor. Ariane knelt down onto the ground, the mud leaving stains on her dress.

"Doctor, are you alright?" she asked him. There was no light to tell if his eyes were open or not. But she could feel something large had hit him on the head. A tender bump had formed on his temple, and there was some swelling. "Doctor, please answer me."

His head jerked to the side followed by a distinctive groan.

"Ugh, my head feels like an anvil was dropped on it."

The Doctor opened his eyes, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness. He slowly rose to his feet, gripping a nearby wall levering himself up.

"Where are we, Doctor? I can't see a thing."

At that moment, a blue light filled the darkness. Skulls embedded in the walls. Ariane screamed, the sound echoing harshly.

"Why are you screaming? Don't you think my head hurts enough already. First pears, then this. What next? The bell of Notre Dame falling onto of me?"

It was clear the Doctor was hurt. Ariane could see blood coming from his temple where he'd fallen onto a rock. Grabbing a handkerchief out of her breast pocket adding some saliva from her mouth onto it.

"Ouch!" the Doctor cried. "That hurt."

"I didn't even touch you..."

"Oh. Maybe it's my nerves playing tricks on me. I could have sworn you did."

Ariane sighed and finished cleaning up the blood and placed the handkerchief back into her pocket.

"Where are we?" Ariane shivered.

"The catacombes of Paris. There is a vast network of tunnels that stretches all over the city. No one knows how far they go, they just seem go on forever. "

A rat ran pasted the Doctor's foot, leaving a small trail of footprints in the mud. The sonic screwdriver illuminated the tunnel with a dazzling blue glow, but only for a couple of metres.

"We're not going to be able to get out this way. The entrance is blocked off by that creature."

Ariane leaned back against the wall, frustrated and frightened.

"Yes, we are. Stay positive. All we need is a map. Wait, we've got that."

The Doctor tapped his head, accidently tapping where he had hit his head and causing him to wince in pain once again.

"Well, since you know everything, lead the way. You're the one that lead us into this tunnel in the first place," Ariane growled.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, his expression critical.

"Would you rather have been taken away by the Crypt like all of the other women?"

His eyes penetrated hers, but she didn't cringe away from him like some would have done.

"I think I would have rather have taken the chance than being literally buried alive in this place," she said, referring to the tunnel.

"I'll find a way out, you know," he promised her in a gentler tone. "I've got the schismatics in my head."

Ariane didn't look convinced.

"How? You admitted that you're not even human."

"Just trust me," he begged her.

Ariane's temper had reached critical point, though. She was frightened, exhausted, and simply at the end of her rope.

"Trust you? TRUST YOU!? Ever since I met you today, I trusted you, and look where it's gotten me!"

The Doctor's expression turned dark.

"Fine. If you don't want my help then that's absolutely fine by me."

With those final words the Doctor stormed off into the darkness, taking the sonic screwdriver with him, leaving Ariane in the darkness alone.

* * *

The darkness played tricks on you, down here. No light lit the surroundings. In the cold blackness it was easy to imagine you could glimpse things moving. Rats scattered along the ground, their eyes looking up and down Ariane. She shivered, and was cross with herself for what she had just done. It wasn't her fault. He had just made her so mad, she lost it. The tunnels seemed to go forever. Ariane had to feel her way along the walls. She'd heard about the catacombes before. They had only begun digging them, but they ran all the way around the city. Like a labyrinth, there were plenty of dead ends and tunnels.

A sudden screech filled the catacombes, the Crypt was inside. Ariane's breathing rapidly turned into hyperventilation as the creature turned the corner ahead, its yellow eyes calling for her like a siren to a sailor. The light of its eyes filled the tunnel as it came charging towards her.

* * *

The Doctor stayed very close behind Ariane, making sure she was okay. Why did she have such an outburst? All he was trying to do was help her. What was it with humans? They always believed they could do it all by themselves.

A loud screech filled the air just ahead of the Doctor; the Crypt had gotten in the tunnels. The Doctor ran towards the source of the noise, the sonic screwdriver lighting the way. Water dripped from the tunnels roof landing on the Doctor's suit. Around the next corner, the Doctor found Ariane standing above the Crypt. Its twisted mangled body lay on the floor, its jaw dislocated on a horrifying angle.

"Doctor!"

Ariane ran over to him and hugged him until all of the air had been crushed out of his lungs.

"What happened?" he asked her, trying not to stare at the creature's cold, dead, yellow eyes.

"I don't know. It just collapsed to the ground," she replied a little too quickly.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow towards her.

"Don't lie to me, Ariane. I know when someone's lying to me. Ever since I had my laser spanner stolen from me by Emily Pankhurst, I've been very careful," the Doctor warned her. "Now tell me the tru..."

A Crypt suddenly appeared from behind the Doctor. Ariane was paralysed with fear as the creature struck the Doctor on the head. The thump echoed in the dark. With a screech and a sudden flap of its wings the Crypt disappeared in the darkness, taking the Doctor with it and leaving Ariane alone and paralysed with terror in the pitch black tunnel. The only thing that remained of the Doctor was his sonic screwdriver, lying in the mud.

_to be continued..._

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	4. Another World, Another Time

**A/N: Okay, I've worked on this for a few days. Thank you again to bluecougar57 for being my Beta, It's very much appreciated. Please bare with me, but this chapter will be important for the future chapters. So bare with me. Enjoy. Reviews are loved. :)**

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**Another World, Another Time**

_2,439 years ago._

Pandora was dying. Gamma radiation from their blue sun was slowly pefnetrating their ozone layer, heating up the planet to dangerous levels. The Malatic ocean that covered over ninety percent of Pandora had evaporated into nothing, and only the sandy ocean floor remained. Marine life that had once existed in the once beautiful purple sea lay motionless on the blood soaked sand. A small crab scuttled along between the carcasses of the sea life, taking shelter under a whale that had died floundering in the rapidly disappearing waters.

The situation in the city was little better. Chaos swept throughout every street of the city as creatures, and machinery that you could only dream about, broke into shop windows. A small steamroller rammed straight through a shopping centre, as creatures of all shapes and sizes stole food and water, picking the shelves clean. Homes were invaded as the Crypt turned against each other, taking shelter from the heatwave. Fires ignited all over the city, the smoke drifting high into the sky as it was carried by the wind. In the distance, in the thick green trees and bushes north of the ruined city, you could hear the chirping and rustling of small animals gathering in the shrubbery.

Lord Gortal overlooked the devastated city below though the window of his palace. The radiation had fused the city's shields; everything was vulnerable now. A building on the other side of the city burst into flames, the embers carried by the wind to set the next building on fire. Gortal stared at the table where a small metal box lay.

"It is time. Bring them to me now," he commanded to the guard, which resembled something like a giant piece of celery. There wasn't much time left. Soon the planet would be destroyed, killing every living thing on the planet.

Minutes later the guard returned. Behind him stood three hideous creatures that could melt the eyes of anyone who dared to spare them even a glance. Their skin was foul and putrid smelling, as if their skin was rotting. Chunks of skin fell to the floor in small blobs like jelly. Droplets of blood trickled down each of their faces from their eyes, which were heavily bloodshot. Their grey tongues flickered at Gortal, threatening to send him into a trance. Hissing noises erupted from the mouths of the thousands of tiny snakes which covered their heads. Each of them sliding over the other that would even make the bravest man run.

Taking a slow deep breath, Gortal spoke up.

"You all know why I've summoned you here."

A sense of urgency and despair filled his voice.

Alecto stepped forward from the middle of her two sisters.

"Of course we do, you idiot. Why else would you call for us after locking us up in the dungeons for the past thirty years?"

Alecto was well known for her unquenchable rage. She could turn any little thing into the size of a black hole, and it would be as though you'd been placed right in the path of a tornado, the oncoming storm.

"I suggest we cut his throat," Tisiphone said as she circled Gortal, playing with his robe with her sharp fingernails.

Megaera pulled her sisters back.

"Stop it, both of you!" she cried, her voice rising a couple of octaves. "Listen to what he has to say."

Gortal swallowed heavily, trying to keep himself calm.

"I need you to leave this planet. Get to safety, the three of you."

"Why?" Megaera and Tisiphone said in unison.

"Because, only you can save our race. That is why I entrust you with this." Gortal picked up the small metal box that lay on the table. Symbols and lines representing the stars and planets of Pandora surrounded the box. "This is Pandora's box, our heritage. Everything you see around you originated from here." Gortal placed the box in Alecto's hands. "It could destroy a world, or create a new one. Bring sorrow to the land, or devastate it with illness. How it affects the world around it all depends on the person who opens it. Only use it as a last resort."

Gortal turned around and looked back through the window as he stared at his own reflection.

Tisiphone felt the box but could find no edges for a lid. Pandora's Box was just one giant slab of metal.

"So where are we supposed to go, then?" she asked.

"There's a planet called Earth located in the Milky Way. Its ecosystem is almost identical to ours, enough to support our life. I'm ordering twenty of my most loyal guards to assist you on your journey. There you will start a new life; I will stay here with my people. I will feel their pain and suffering as I die with them." Gortal said.

Alecto moved forward aggressively, passing the box forcefully into Megaera's hands.

"Are you completely and utterly insane? I'd rather die on this godforsaken planet than do your bidding."

The reptiles in her hair slithered over one another in reaction to her seething fury.

"Well, then. I might just have something to say about that. Guards, take them to the lab now."

With the final command, two more guards appeared in the room grappling Alecto and Tisiphone by their throats and arms. Megaera kept the box close to her chest as the celery-like Crypt pushed a combination of buttons on a piece of technology that appeared to be fused to his skin. In an instant they disappeared, only one of the Crypt guards remained.

"My lord, why them? What is so special that they are allowed to live, when we must die?" the Crypt said, trying to contemplate why, Lord Gortal had made such a terrible decision.

"Because only they can open Pandora's box. Only they can save us. I have no choice."

"There's always a choice." The Crypt replied.

"Not this time. Not this time..." he replied as he drifted off deep into his mind.

* * *

Seconds later the three of them were standing in the lab. In the centre of the room was a large stone podium the size of a small car. Ancient symbols and letters imprinted on eighteen stone twenty stone pillars located next to each other.

"What the hell is that? One of your little experiments that you conjured up in that fantasy realm of yours?" Tisiphone asked one of the scientist Crypts in disgust.

He rolled his eyes and continued with writing a final equation into the tablet that was connected to the gold plate. Finishing the final algorithmic equation, the scientist started pushing down the pillars. As each one was pushed down, three more rose up on the amount that the original pillar was pushed down. Pushing one more pillar, the podium began to turn dark. Lights flicked above the three of them as small objects were pulled towards the podium disappearing into the stone.

"You idiot, what are you doing? It's pulling me in! Whatever you're doing stop it right now, or I swear I will come over there and kill you where you stand."

Alecto's eyes burned holes straight through the scientist, but he only laughed.

"Stop what I'm doing? You have no idea how long I have waited to do this to you three. You in particular, Alecto. You killed my mother thirty two years ago. I rejoiced when you and your sisters went to prison. Believe me, you're getting off easy now, and the only reason you're still standing is because for some bloody insane reason, Lord Gortal believe you can save us all. Well, he's wrong. You're nothing, and you never will be." He looked back to the podium as the sound of tortured ancient engines increased in intensity and pitch. "This is the creation of a controlled wormhole. With any luck you'll end up in the centre of a sun. Guards, push them in," he ordered with great pleasure, and a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"Get off me, what are you doing? Don't touch me!"

Each of the three were violently shoved into the wormhole. Their screams echoed as they disappeared within the machine. Guards followed them through the wormhole, as the planet was incinerated by the radiation.

* * *

Wild cats roamed the tall grass in search of food. The leader of the pride scanning the grassy plain making occasional outcrops of rock or spindly trees. Off in the distance, starlight twinkled in the calmly moving sea. Then something extraordinary happened.

The leader of the pride leapt towards the cliff face that was untouched by humans. The pale stone was almost blue in the starlight as the heavens reflected onto the cliff. He let out a ferocious roar as a sharp clicking sound in the eerie silence made him turn back quickly around. He gave a wild shake of his mane, and flung out his powerful forepaws and dug them deep into the cliff. Birds screeched and wheeled. Tortured, ancient engines were labouring away somewhere close. The earth below them shook, as a large bright green flash appeared from the bottom of the cliff. Nine or so creatures appeared after the flash ended; the cat threw back his massive head and roared. His savage jade eyes narrowed at the sight of the strangers. The female pride gathered along the cliff face at the roar of their male, staring down at the new arrivals.

The noise of the ancient engines was swallowed up by the oceans roar, as the smell of something new lingered on the shores of Greece. Alien. Each of the pride could almost taste their warmth and blood. And then they remembered they were starving.

* * *

Seconds later, Megaera, Tisiphone and Alecto appeared in open surrounding. The air population free. Lions lined the top of a sheer cliff face, licking their lips at them.

Only seven guards surrounded them, the rest were nowhere to be seen. The wormhole had been destroyed while they were inside, killing them instantly.

Megaera held Pandora's Box in her hands.

"Where do you think we are?" she asked her sisters.

"Earth, where do you think?" Alecto snapped furiously. "Who gives a damn, anyway? That old fool sent us here in the first place. Did he honestly believe that we would obey him?"

The surviving guards removed their guns from their pockets. Yellow lights flickered on and off at the side of them.

"Oh, I'm so scared," Alecto said bitterly. "Go on, shoot me. You'll be doing me a favour."

The celery Crypt stepped forward.

"You will continue with our lord's final wish. And if you refuse, I will gladly shoot you."

"Who the hell do you think you are, giving us orders? Last time someone gave me an order, I ripped their eyeballs out of their sockets. They lived, but I ended up having a lovely meal."

Tisiphone licked her lips for emphasis.

"I am Linebek. Lord Gortal's personal guard. And he gave me the order to kill you instantly should you refuse." Linebek raised his gun to Tisiphone's face. "Now, you might consider that it would be better for all of us if you did as you were told, and with any luck, you will survive. Unless you really do place such little value on your life?"

Megaera stood there watching the argument go to and fro like a ping-pong match. She had always been the quiet one out of the three, and tended to stay back while her sisters did as they would. The truth was that it disgusted her, the way they treated everyone as scum. The only reason she had stayed with them for this long what that they were the only family she had.

After two hundred years of living, they never aged. Their cells just kept regenerating and regenerating, never getting old. Pandora's Box felt warm pressed against Megaera's skin, its heat warming up her body as the cool breeze blew over the Mediterranean Sea.

A shadowy figure rustled through the bushes at the bottom on the cliff. Leaves floated onto the grass as a man emerged from the midst of the shrubbery and fell to his knees.

"Oh, god of the stars, daughters of Nyx. Prophecies foretold that you would arrive one day." The strange man placed his head on the ground avoiding looking at the gods.

"What is the being speaking of, these 'gods'?" Alecto asked Megaera.

"I think he means us..." she replied, staring at the strange being in front of her.

"Maybe this planet won't be such a complete loss after all," Alecto growled with dark, evil eyes. "Stand and speak, representative of this world. What did this prophecy foretell?"

The man rose up shakily onto his feet.

"The ruins underneath the Parthenon prophesied that the Daughters of Night would fall from the heavens. Together they will protect the good, and punish the wicked. The guardians of the law would intervene when no one else would."

He quickly diverted his eyes to the ground.

"That is enough. You will go back to your city and bring the news to them that the Daughters of Night have arrived," Alecto commanded him. The man ran off back into the night.

"What do you think you're doing?" Linebek yelled at her.

"Well, the way I see it, our lord wished for us to start our planet over. And if these creatures believe us to be their gods, then that's what we'll be. It's the only way to start over. From the top." There was a cruel sneer lingered in her voice, and the other guards trembled in fear.

"I will not have this. Guards seize them!" Linebek turned around to the other guards, commanding them to obey his order. No one moved. "What do you think you're doing? Seize them!"

Still they disobeyed.

"Guards, seize him," Tisiphone demanded. The guards surrounded Linebek.

"What do you think you're doing?! Let me go!" Linebek struggled in their grips.

"What does it look like, you piece of filth? They've turned on you, we are in charge now. Guards, tie him up," Alecto snarled, her nostrils flaring wide.

Megaera stood in shocked silence as the guards tied Linebek up. _Not again_, she thought desperately. _This can't happen again_.

Pandora's Box grew warmer under her clutches.

"Megaera, take care of Linebek for us. Alecto and I will head towards this Parthenon. Slit his throat for me."

Tisiphone winked at her. Pure evil was in her eyes.

"Su-sure thing. I'll catch up with you," Megaera stuttered.

"Guards, come with us now. My sister has something important to do."

Laughter burst out of the Tisiphone and Alecto's mouths as the guards followed them without hesitation, leaving Megaera alone with Linebek.

"I am not afraid of death. So you might as well kill me now, get it over with."

Linebek faced Megaera, his eyes cold. Grabbing a blade out of her back pocket, she cut through the wire that had been used to tie him up.

"Get out of here now, before they notice I haven't killed you." Cutting through the final wire, Megaera ran away as Linebek stared out as she disappeared into the greenery.

Why did she free him? On the ground below him laid the silver box that Lord Gortal had entrusted the three women with. Did Megaera drop it? Or did she deliberately place it there? It was up to him now, to start a new world. As Linebek began to move in the direction Megaera had run off in, though, a lion slashed through his arm like razorblades, and his blood slowly poured over the grassy plain.


	5. Hidden Inside

****

Thank you to blucougar57 who Beta'd this chapter. Sorry it took a while for me to upload this chapter. I've been extremely busy lately with school, so it's been hard to fit writing into my schedule. I hope to get the next chapter uploaded in about a week. Thanks for reading :)

* * *

**Hidden Inside**

The Doctor released his breath in a rush of air and sank to the ground in a boneless heap, his body abruptly robbed of any support. His ankles were shackled to a stone wall by iron chains.

It was bitterly cold, and the room was blanketed by darkness. He had no idea exactly where he was, or what else might be there with him. He tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but all it achieved was a sharp twinge of pain through his head and neck, and he could feel blood trickling down his neck from where he'd been struck.

The Doctor started at the sound of whispering in the darkness, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"He's awake."

A giggle erupted nearby, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. In his dazed state, it seemed as though the voice was all around him.

"Quiet! He'll hear you," another voice hissed.

"I can hear you," interrupted the Doctor. "It's sort of hard not to."

However, the voices continued on as though he hadn't made a sound.

"He can help us. I know we can trust him, Linebek."

"I don't see how. As a matter of fact, I don't see anything."

"Funny about that. I can see perfectly." A gentle breeze brushed against the Doctor's face. "As a matter of fact, I think he's kind of cute."

The voice giggled again. Trying to suppress his growing frustration, the Doctor tried again.

"Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt your little chit-chat, but would you mind terribly helping me out here? I'd really rather like to get out of these chains. They're starting to hurt," he added in a slightly whiny tone.

"Nayru, you do the honors," Linebek commanded.

Another breeze of air flowed over the Doctor, followed by a small _click_, andthe chains broke away from his ankles.

"That's much better," the Doctor said with fresh enthusiasm. "Though, this lump on my head hurts like hell. That's twice in one day." The Doctor reached into his pocket pulling out a box of everlasting matches. The heat from the flame causing the wood to grow at the same rate at which it was being consumed. "And now we have light!" he exclaimed as the room was lit up by the small embers of the match.

"Now, let's see what we have here."

The Doctor scanned the empty room in the dim orange light. It was some sort of dungeon, but beyond that he had no way of knowing where he was.

"He looks weak," the voice he now identified as Linebek stated, but the Doctor could not pick him out of the shadows.

"You would be too after having a pear thrown at you, fallen on top of a rock and been clobbered by one of you Crypt," he exclaimed indignantly. "Now show yourself!"

In an instant, an enormous Gargoyle jumped down from the rafters and landed on the ground with a heavy crack, the impact sending bits of stone flying in every direction.

"That's better, in the light!" the Doctor said as he examined the Crypt. Where it should have had a right arm, there was instead a stone stump, the core centre of it darker than the surface of the outside. "What happened to your arm?"

"That, sir, is none of your business," Linebek said tersely.

"It was bitten off."

Nayru's voice filled the room but, like Linebek moments before, she was nowhere to be seen.

"I had to take care of him, and believe me when I say that it's not easy taking care of a grumpy old sod."

"Shut up, Nayru! I didn't need your help in the first place. I was handling things just fine until you came along," Linbek snarled, his voice echoing the frustration and aggravation he felt. "I had that creature just where I wanted it."

"Of course you did," Nayru replied sarcastically.

"Where are you? I can't see you," the Doctor said, looking around with a frown.

A cool breeze circled the Doctor.

"Here I am, silly," replied Nayru. "I'm all around you."

The Doctor reached out to touch the air; he could feel the cool, soft air brush through his fingers.

"You're air? But air can't talk, air is just...air!"

The Doctor rummaged through his pockets for his sonic screwdriver, but couldn't find it anywhere.

"Humans, they're so thick. Can't tell the difference between X-tonic energy and psychokinetic energy," Linbek said, looking down on the Doctor with disdain.

"Actually, X-Tonic energy is the cause of X-Tonic stars firing raw Galvanic Radiation into one concentrated area. Psychokinetic energy is when the electrons in an object vibrates so fast that they create a tiny ripple in space, causing a disruptive psychometric field that feedbacks back into that rip in space, sending off an energy wave that can cause objects to move. But that won't be discovered on Earth for another three hundred years." The Doctor look thoroughly pleased with himself, giving Linebek a big grin. "Oh, by the way. I'm not human."

"Nonsense," Linebek growled back at the Doctor.

"Linebek, he has two hearts. He's not human."

Nayru's voice echoed throughout the enclosed space, all the way up into the rafters.

"Thank you, two hearts. Count them if you will. One, two." The Doctor pointed to each side of his chest to where his hearts were. "Wait, a second how do you know I have two hearts?"

The cool breeze circling around the Doctor stopped in an instance.

Nayru sighed with despair. "I lost my physical form long ago. Now I'm just atoms."

"But surely you could just create a new one? You are a Crypt, aren't you?" the Doctor asked as he leaned back against the wall.

"It's not as simple as that," Linebek said after a long silence. "You see, when we first came to your planet, we travelled through a wormhole, but it collapsed too soon and killed half of those who came with us. Nayru was the last one to escape the wormhole, but not without a price." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, but it was quickly replaced by his earlier indifferent attitude. He snarled at the air, and dust flared out of his nostrils.

"The wormhole collapsed, and in doing so, it cancelled out my ability to create a new body," Nayru went on, eager to change the subject. "My electrons, protons and neutrons broke apart, but were still connected by their electromagnetic field. There's no way to fix it. I am everywhere. I see anything. It's like having a thousand eyes and ears. It is as if all the voices in the world are speaking to me at once. In truth, it really hurts my head... or, whatever you want to call it. Head, atom, atom head. Whatever."

"I'm sorry. That must feel like... well, like me," the Doctor said as he clasped his hands together. "Now, first things first. I'm the Doctor. And having said that, I want to know exactly why I'm here, and where here is."

Linebek moved forward towards the Doctor, his stone feet grinding against the ground.

"Okay, _Doctor_." Linebek drew herself up to his full height, towering over the Time Lord. "You're here because I brought you here."

"And _here_ is where, exactly?" the Doctor asked, gesturing around them.

"Notre Dame. We're in one of the towers."

"But I don't see any doors. How did we get in here?"

The Doctor reached out and touched the cold wall. The stones were moist with damp moss creeping through the cracks and crevasses of the stones.

"Look up," Nayru said, and the Doctor could feel her passing over his skin.

The Doctor did as he was told. At first, all he could see were the rafters that were illuminated by the everlasting match, but before long his straining eyes finally saw what she was talking about.

It was the great bourdon bell, Emmanuel. Its pristine silver sides reflected the flame in every direction, and glistening like the stars. It was the sacred bell.

For a moment, all the Doctor could do was to drink in at the beautiful sight before his eyes. It was not the first time he'd laid eyes on the bell, but he had never before seen it in quite the same light... pun not intended. It took him a minute to recover his power of speech.

"Right, okay.... So, South Tower, then?"

Linebek nodded. The Doctor's eyes shifted back to Linebek.

"I take it then that I was brought in through the top of the tower?"

He had noticed a tiny speck of moonlight shining through the top of the tower, hitting Emmanuel on its side. Linebek nodded again.

"It was the only way to get you in unnoticed."

'_I know I'm going to regret myself asking this,_' the Doctor thought to himself. "Unnoticed by who?"

The room fell silent, and the Doctor could feel Nayru's fear creep over his skin, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Alecto and Tisiphone," Nayru said, struggling to get the words out. "They don't know we're here, but they do know you're here in Paris, Doctor. They detected your Trans-Dimensional hypercube a few hours ago, and that's why we had to get you here before they could get to you. For so many years Linebek and I have hidden in the shadows, watching as the evil grew in them. Even Megaera was so afraid of them, she ran away."

"Who's Megaera?"

"The woman you were with," Replied Linebek. "The one in the catacombs with you."

"She told me that her name is Ariane," the Doctor said in confusion as he rubbed compulsively at the back of his neck.

Nayru swept around the Doctor playfully, surrounding him with her presence.

"The human's name was Ariane, but Tisiphone and Alecto killed her a long time ago, along with all the other women they ordered the other Crypt to abduct. Megaera used the dead woman's body to escape."

The Doctor's face darkened visibly, and that darkness seemed to fill the room in much the same way as Nayru's presence filled it.

"Twenty-six women," his voice grew louder, echoing throughout the tower. "They've killed twenty-six women! What for?"

"They needed them," Nayru replied, suddenly cautious.

"But _what for_?" the Doctor repeated with a finality that caused even Linebek to shiver in fear.

"I-I don't know," stuttered Nayru. "I'm sorry, I just don't know."

The Doctor strode across the room.

"It stops here, with me," he stated fiercely. A tiny brass knocker lay on the ground, surrounded by wood. A trapdoor... "Are you two coming?"

"I don't want them hurting anyone else," Nayru decided without hesitation. "It's not right."

Linebek just grunted.

"Linebek?" the Doctor asked as he pulled up the trapdoor. Linebek only shook his head, his expression hard.

"I was nearly killed once. I'm not letting that happen again."

At that, the Doctor and Nayru left the tower, closing the trapdoor behind him and leaving Linebek alone in the dark.


End file.
